CIM Marathon!!!

Wow- what a race. Like most races you kind of have a plan in your head of how the race is going to go…and usually there are some twists in the reality of it. My plan was to stick with Jenny Hitchings who I had run stride for stride with at Eugene until I slowed and she sped up in the final miles. Unfortunate, I lost Jenny around 8 as she had some GI issues. I was thankful that I had met a couple other girls at dinner the night before that were planning on racing smart so I decided to stick with them. When we started out I felt a little flat compared to Chicago so that concerned me a little bit. However, by the half I was feeling really good and the pace felt painfully slow but we were clicking off sub 6:20 pace so I figured I would stay with these gals. Ashley- the most vocal one of our pack kept telling us to relax and chill out because the goal is 2:46 and not faster. I was happy that she constantly reminded us of that. By the time we got to mile 20 I was so excited because I knew we were going to get the time. However, I still worried a little because in my other marathons I have felt very good and then all of a sudden crashed and burned. With three miles to go I knew I was going to get it. The last mile I just was smiling and so happy. I was so surprised to break 2:46 by 86 seconds. I thought I was just going to squeak under the 2:46 mark. I attribute some of this to my fueling and some to running a conservative race. I forced myself to make fuel and drinking a priority even if it slowed me down in the short run. When I grabbed a water bottle I would not throw it out until I had finished it (these were 6 ounce but still). I also took a gel before the start and took five more during the race. This was much more than the people around me but I think that my metabolism is such that I need more fuel than the average person. Anyway- I always felt energized and never hit the wall. That was a big accomplishment for me since I have died the last couple races. When I crossed the line it was such an amazing feeling. There were a few of us girls and we were hugging and lifting each other up. Some were crying. Some were in shock. I was jumping around like a euphoric little kid on Christmas morning! Wow- lesson learned- go for your dreams with all your heart.

Internship

I started an internship at Shriner’s Children’s Hospital of Portland. I am learning so much and I absolutely love working with kids. They say the funniest things. It's nice that Shriner's is right next to OHSU so Jeff and I can occasionally grab lunch together.

Vancouver with the parents

This weekend I went to Seattle to visit my parents and then we headed up to Canada. It was nice to relax with them. We stayed in a hotel with a pool and hot tub so I took full advantage of that. I also had some great runs.

Day with Mom

My mom and I had a nice day together. We went to the Bellevue Art Museum for the furniture exhibit and we went to a really cool place for tea. We also did alittle shopping and went to whole foods and Great Harvest Bread. It was fun to spend time together doing things that Jeff would not like to do with me : )

Kalamazoo

I took the train to Kalamazoo to visit my grandparents. We had a great time catching up over good food and drink.

Laura's wedding

After my last final I headed to Utah for my good friend Laura’s wedding. It was so great to see Jeff after 6 weeks apart! It was also great to see all my Calvin friends. The wedding was very fun. I had never been a bridesmaid and it was fun. I went on an awesome trail fun as well. Fun fun!

Exam week

Wow that was an intense week. We had an oral final, a lab practical final, a written final, and a video final for each subject. It feels good to have survived. I can’t say that I nailed them but I it’s over and I graduate on Friday. It has been a fun 10 weeks. Friendships and memories were made during my time a at Northwestern. Bittersweet.

Chicago Marathon

Well I have had a week to digest my race. ..My overall feeling is that I am proud that I put it all out there and really can say that I had nothing left. The hard part is that I don’t know what to do now. I am still confused as to why I die at the end of the marathon. I feel like most of the elite runners I know do not die like I have the last two races. In Eugene, I thought it was that I didn’t fuel properly but during Chicago I did. Perhaps I went to fast but if I would have gone slower, would have I still died but not had as much of a time cushion? Not sure…I need to figure this out. One thing about the race was that it was a really special experience that I will remember for my whole life. I had SO many people cheering for me from all different parts of my life. It was really special to hear “Go Christina!” every couple minutes and look up and see someone from Michigan, Portland, Gradschool, Calvin, Fleet Feet…it was truly amazing.

Pre Chicago

Sorry for being so MIA on this blog. School and training have been keeping me very busy. I am very excited for the marathon tomorrow and have good feelings about it. Looking forward to a fun and fast race!

Focus Group

This morning I met Heather to do some strides and talk to Coach Leach one last time before the marathon. The strides felt fluid. Heather and I then drove to the race expo where we participated in a Nike Focus group. They wanted information from Elite Runners on watches. It was fun and they rewarded us with a gift card and a shirt. We then went to get our packets. We didn’t stay long because there was some mad nervous energy in the building and I didn’t like it. I stopped to by some roast beef on my way home. I always have a roast beef sandwich the lunch before a goal race. It makes me feel strong for some reason- I’m sure it is mental : )

all out mile

Today was my last workout before the marathon. It was a short one- one mile all out. I ran the mile in 5:09 which I was pleased with. Before the Eugene marathon I ran a 5:21 so I think that means I am going to fly on Sunday. I am feeling confident in my chances of going sub 2:46..it’s just going to be a matter of the weather.

tune up 5k

I did the Comer Kid’s Classic this morning. I felt solid on my race but I ran the exact same time that I had run in a 5k at the beginning of my season- 17:44. Well at least I am consistent : ) the race was fun. It was a smaller race and everyone was so nice to me afterwards. These little kids came up and asked for my autograph- it was super cute. It was on U of C’s campus in Hyde Park. The campus was so beautiful. I was glad that I got to explore a new park of Chicago.

Paw's 8k

I big big PR and win for me in my 8k race. I was super excited with how I felt. This made me excited for the marathon! The race was to raise money for PAWs an dog adoption agency so it was not the typical race. By the water there was also water on the ground for dogs and afterward along with Bagels there was dog treats : )

Making Tracks 5k

Despite a week of being sick I managed to pull off a victory in the 5k- in fact I almost beat the first male which would have been fun : ) I felt good and controlled the whole race and ran a 17:47 which was 20 seconds faster than when I ran the same 5k last year. Everything has been boding well for a fast marathon in a couple weeks. Just got to get healthy and rest up.

balancing act is going well

I have been so busy I have not had a moment to write! I am loving my classes but it’s hard to be in class for 8 hours and also train for the marathon and study and talk to my husband! Training is going very well. I did a 12 mile marathon pace run today and I felt great so that’s a really good sign. I went right from my run to anatomy lab and then spent the next 4 hours in the library working on my research paper…..but the weird thing is that it was actually a fun day.

Torch Lake

I went to Torch Lake for Labor Day weekend. I had a great time. It was so great to spend time with Jeff after 4 weeks apart! We did it all- water skiing, played Tennis, badminton, ran, ate good food, hung out with family…good times!

On Wednesday I did the Elvis is Alive 5k. It’s quite the race- there is an award for the fastest Elvis so many people dress up as Elvis! I was surprised that I won the race after a week of really bad training. It reminded me that it takes time to adjust to the heat and new surroundings. My time of 17:44. It was fun to see a lot of runner friends I had not seen for a while.

In Chi-town!

I arrived in Chicago at midnight. I felt so welcomed as my friend Jill picked me up from the airport and let me stay at her apartment so I could partake in an early morning run along the lakefront with her and a fellow fleet feeter. After the run we sat in Lake Michigan to cool off and it felt like heaven (now the run felt terrible- so so hot). Later we went out for an amazing breakfast and then Jill took me to Holly's were I was met with more hospitality as Holly had prepared a nice room for me and labeled shelves for me in the bathroom and kitchen. It felt good to be back.

Bones

On my flight to Chicago I sat next to this nice old man and his wife. He was determined to become friends with me despite my un-talkative nature. I sat there studying my bone flashcards for anatomy and the man said “you are kind of creeping me out studying bones.” I smiled and said I was taking anatomy. I soon fell asleep with my head on the tray table and the man shook me and gave me a pillow. I thanked him and went to sleep. When I woke up there was an apple on my table. He said “thought you might be hungry.” I thanked him and made some small talk with him as I ate my apple. As we landed the man quickly reached for my luggage to give me a hand and said “come on Bones, it’s time to go to baggage claim- that’s your new name.” I didn’t know we were on the level of nick names but okay : ) It was an interesting experience that made me smile so I wanted to share.

hard workout and now off to Chicago!

Today I did a crazy workout- it was 4 by 4 miles (3 miles at 6:35 followed by one mile at 7 min pace) then one mile at 6 min pace. The paces were slower than a workout but after doing 16 miles it doesn’t feel so slow : ) I hadn’t ever done a long run + workout. Usually I just run long for my long run. I could tell that this was a great workout…however now I am in the airport on the way back to Chicago- I might be a little stiff when I arrive : )

visitor!

Jessica comes to visit! Jess and I have had a great time exploring my city. We ate some crazy sandwiches at http://www.pbjsgrilled.com/index.html - blue cheese and peanut butter anyone? : ) We went for a run on the wildwood trail. We went to movies in the Park and saw Inception. We walked down 23rd. We went to Powell’s books. We had coffee at stumptown and lunch at the street carts. We ran on the waterfront had a picnic in the park while listening to a free concert. We went to the Nike campus and we did a free yoga class. So much fun!

Chicago Marathon- starting training

Well Today starts my 12 week ramp up to the Chicago Marathon! I have to say, of all my training cycles I am the most anxious this time. I am nervous about training and completing my intense 10 week class clinical portion of my schooling. I am worried that I am not going to be able to juggle everything and that one aspect of my life is going to slide- whether that is my relationships with my friends, my grades, my training, or my communication with my husband from a distance. I want to do my very best in all these things. Most people that are training for an OTQ are willing to set aside this chunk of time and focus only on this task. I have to split my focus. This is tough. On a positive note- I have good feelings about my next marathon attempt. I have been feeling so strong on my runs and am ready to add in some workouts and focus my training. I think this is going to be the time!

Portland is so green!

So I was running today with a couple girls and it was warm out and we passed some people giving out water. I was excited about a nice cup of water. I stopped and looked around- where were the cups? I asked the lady and she gave me a look like "what's wrong with this girl?." She then asked me where my water bottle was, given my confused look she explained to me that it would be terrible for the environment to use paper cups and they only give water to those that run with water bottles. haha. Guess I better start running with a cup! : )

Blues Festival

My parents came to town for the Blues Festival. It was fun to show them our new place and do some exploring with them!

Portland Trails

I just am so excited about the huge amount of trails behind my home...and the best part about it is that there are so many salmon berries along the trail so you don't need to bring gels you can just stop and snack on berries : )

Run Portland

Today I got up early to meet 7 Portland runners for a 10 mile run. They were all so fun and I was loving it! We got coffee at the Dragonfly after and then one of the girls offered to give a few of us a ride home (it's only a few blocks). There were car seats in the back..no problem we fit! It was hilarious.

Life with Jeff..

Well today we had a series of unfortunate events (Jeff couldn't find SSN card and passport was expired, we forgot a receipt of something we were returning, we went to get our mattress and something was wrong with the credit card we brought, we got lost, and we had to pay for parking..ect. After the afternoon of running errands unsuccessfully Jeff turns to me and says "What a fun day with you babe!" I thought he was being sarcastic but then realized that he was serious....haha- well if running errands unsuccessfully is a fun time with me then I would say we are off to a good start for our marriage! : )

it's been awhile

I had a great wedding and honeymoon and I am now in Portland...it seems like too much of an undertaking to get caught up with blog posts from the wedding and the honeymoon because there was so much that happened! Maybe I will go back once I am caught up with school and have the apartment set up! I will keep you posted on life in PDX!

Maui- a few pics...you can see more on facebook

The Boat

Today I went down to the marina to help my dad put the boat in. He had been working on the boat all week. We got the boat in and it started right up. I was holding onto the rope and he put the throttle into reverse and the boat starting moving forward. I was pulling back on the road and yelling "stop!!!" He quick cut the engine and tried to go in reverse once more and the boat went forward. "humm.." Then he tried putting it in drive and it went in REVERSE!! When he rewired the boat he got the wires switch HAHA!!! Well, it's going to take a little inside knowledge to drive our boat this season : )

Eugene Marathon

Well yesterday I ran the Eugene marathon. It was a beautiful day and I just had a good feeling when I woke up about the race. When the race started I quickly got into a group with others going for the Olympic trials qualifying time being lead by a nice guy named Sean. We started out conservatively and then got into our rhythm and started to click off the miles. I felt great and it felt so wonderful to have a pack of people working together. When we came through the half marathon we were right on track for a 2:45 (qualifying time is 2:46). I was getting excited. I told myself just be patient and then bring it home those final few miles. However the excitement got to my legs alittle and we dropped the pace a couple seconds. Going through 16 miles I was thinking “only 10 miles! I am going to do this! This is so great!” I saw my dad and I gave him a smile trying to silently communicate “DAD I feel AMAZING!” : ) Then I saw the mile 20 in the distance “sweet! Only 6 miles! I was feeling so confident. Mile 20 was tough but I held on however it was getting Really hard. I told myself to dig down and then I realized that I told my legs to go faster and they did not. I started to feel a little bit of a panic- I didn't want to loose Sean, Kami, and Jenny. All of a sudden my legs felt like they were slapping the ground with each step. The miles seemed to be taking forever. My watch beeped for mile 23 “6:53” NOOO. I reached down and slapped my leg- I am not sure why but I guess I thought it would help- I was pushing so hard but I didn't feel like I was moving- mile 24 “7:00” no. I got a lump in my throat. Coming into the 20 miles I had a little over a minute cushion to get the qualifying time - now I had no time to spare and there was no way my legs were going to run 6:20. Now the question was “can I get these legs that don't feel like they are attached to my body to make it these last 2 miles? One foot in front of the other Christina just one foot in front of the other. How had my goal changed so quickly from Olympic Qualifier to just finishing? It was the longest 2 miles of my life- I entered the stadium and pushed it as hard as I could to the finish (this ended up being 6:40 pace). As soon as I crossed the line I felt my legs starting to buckle but 2 people quickly grabbed me and helped me walk until I had regained a little stability in my legs. Well it was the first time that I have finished a race and people haven't said “looks like you could have kept running” : ). Anyway, I am still digesting the race.
So exiting for the first 21..then so disappointing the last 5...but then so happy that I finished with nothing left....but then so disappointing that my best wasn't good enough..but then happy that it was a 5 minute PR.. Well you know how it's hard to stop analyzing a race : ) One thing that I am certain about is that the I am one lucky girl to have such amazing encouragement and support from friends and family!!
Well...time to move running to the back burner and focus on some other exciting things in my life for awhile : ).....However I can't let this dream go- in a couple months I anticipate I will be starting another 3 month training cycle to give it another try. Why? in a weird way that only runners can understand IT WAS SO FUN!!!

Run away Bride!

Today I headed to Seattle where I will be staying until the wedding at the end of May. I got to the airport and my suitcase was 60 pounds instead of 50. Being the Dutch girl I am I tried to find all the heavy things in my suitcase and put them in my already stuffed backpack. I got it down to 50.5 and the guy let me check it without the additional fee. My backpack was so heavy! Not to mention the fact that I was carrying my wedding dress. My flight was a little delayed so when we touched down my connecting flight was already boarding. When I got off the plane I started sprint across the airport to my connecting gate with my dress flying through the air behind me. Someone yelled after me "run away bride!" I must have been quite the site to me seen. I arrived at my gate disheveled and a hot (I was wearing all three of my coats to make my suitcase weigh under 50 pounds). A guy on my plane said "are you coming from a wedding?" I said no I am going to my wedding. The guy said "A destination wedding in Seattle?" Yes I said. Then a voice from a few seats down said "It's gonna rain!" and then everyone on the plane started laughing. haha. quite the day.

Eugene

I wanted to share with everyone this article that was in the Eugene marathon program...pretty cool! : ) I found out that there will be about 10 women at the race trying to qualify for the Olympic Trials so that should make for a good race. I am excited. It is so hard with the marathon to know what type of shape you are in but one thing I do know is that I try to go into everything in life prepared. I am not a "wing it" type of person. So I have put in the work and I can stand on that starting line knowing that I have weeks of hard training behind me. My main concentration from now until Eugene is to work on my mental game- I want to remain confident and tough. For the beginning of the race my mantra is "smooth" i want to focus on my form and staying relaxed and smooth. My middle of the race mantra is "focus"..if I stay focused in the morning I will be able to keep my mind off of thinking more than a mile at a time. My end of the race mantra is "dig"

Shamrock Shuffle

Well unlike the other years it was 80 degrees for the shamrock shuffle! It had been a very long time since I have been hot on a run. It was alittle warm for racing actually. The race went very well. I ran my own race the whole time not thinking about what anyone else was doing. I slowly passed people over the race which is always a good feeling! I ended up with a 22 second PR. Of coarse, as distance runners we are never satisfied and I wished that I had gotten a bigger PR : ) As a team we didn't do as well as in the past. We got 6th place and top 5 get prize money. Bummer! However, I just love the team atmosphere at the race. It is sooo fun! Makes me miss cross country. I stayed at the race for a really long time catching up with all my runner buddies from different teams. After the race I went out to Bruch with Calvin people that were in town. The rest of the day I was sad because the day incorporated everything I love about Chicago and made me not want to leave...great competitive racing, nice weather, good restaurants, a city that draws my friends from out of town to come and visit, cooling down with a a team of competitive runners that are my really good friends along the beautiful lakefront, walking around in the sun.....I could go on and on.

Visit to Northville

This weekend we went to Michigan and stayed at Jeff's parents. My mom flew into town for the showers so it was a full house! My soon-to-be sister in law helped me address my wedding invitations-
My mom and I enjoying a glass of wine before an awesome dinner prepared my Mom C

Bridal Showers

I had such a great time this weekend at my bridal showers. I had one with people from Jeff's home church and another one with my extended family that lives in Michigan and Jeff's extended family that lives in Michigan. Both were a blast and I feel so fortunant to have such great friends and family.

Match Day

We are going to Portland! I will post the experience later- it was quite intense!

Dinner with Pam and Joe

We went out for Japanese Barbecue. There is a little grill in the middle of the table that you cook your food on. It was so fun! I love Pam and Joe.

Nike Boat Ride .... then Pizza with Jess and Emily

Today I got to go on the Chicago River to watch them dye the river green for Saint Patty's day. Nike paid for it all and there was brunch and an open bar. I had such a fun time. It was really fun to do something not running related with my teammates.


Then that afternoon Jessica Koster came into town and we ran down to the Saint Patty's day parade and then Emily came down from the suburbs and we went out for Chicago Pizza.

It was such a fun day! It's studying all day tomorrow now for me : (

oops...

I don't want to have to admit this but it is kind of funny so I feel I should share. Well a couple weeks ago there was a really cold day and I decided to run on the treadmill. I don't run on the treadmill very often and today I was supposed to do mile repeats so I was very focused. There were other treadmills open but this guy with arms the size of my legs decided to go on the treadmill right next to me..urg Oh well. As I started my repeat I completely zoned out and was just focusing on my workout and I forgot that I was inside (don't ask me how I can forget something as obvious as that!) and like I would do outside as I start to breath harder I clear my throat and turn to the side and spit! YES! I spat on the guy next to me! Talk about embarrassing!!! I think I better stick to running outdoors from now on :)

More Calvin Visitors!

I am so lucky to always get such great visitors! Camille and Katie Bolt came to Chicago for the David Gray concert so they stayed with me. I was working that weekend but still got to spend alittle time with them. We had dinner and Camille and I went on a couple runs. fun!

Daily schedule

So I have only been writing about the special fun events but I thought I would give you a glimpse to everyday life. I just started Northwestern's Prosthetics Program and I love it! However, I am still working for GE and training for the Eugene marathon, and planning my wedding...so life is BUSY! A typical day is work 6-12, clinical hours 12-4, study 4-6, run 6-7:30, talk to Jeff 8-9...One= the days when I don't work (it's shift schedule so I work 4 days- off 4 days) I watch lecture videos and catch up on school. This is for sure the most busy I have ever been! Sometimes it is frustrating because I don't feel like I am doing anything as well as I could be if I could just focus on one thing but I don't know what I would cut out. Money is always useful, school is a must, wedding- no way!, running...well that keeps me sane : )

Hotel in Chicago

My roommate and I came home to an apartment with no water. We got a call from our land lord asking if we wanted a room at the Mariot since we could not cook or shower. We took him up on the offer and had a great time. Went in the hot tub that night. We shared a King sized bed. Had a nice all you can eat breakfast..worked out in the fitness center....a mini vacation in my own city!

Water's back on now so we are back to normal life.

Lynn Marsh comes to visit!

My friend Lynn and her boyfriend came to visit. It was great to catch up. We went on some memorable runs with Jenny through alot of snow. On Saturday night we had a bunch of Calvin people over and Lynn and I made Pizza's and we played some fun games. We played "imagine if" which is a game where you draw someones name and then fill it into the blank such as "Imagine if "Christina" were a truck would she be a) dump truck b)ice cream truck c)monster truck ...etc." Then everyone votes and the majority moves ahead. There were some funny ones. Fun times!

Snow Storm

As many might have heard, we had a crazy snow storm in Chicago. The picture is of Jeff's car that we had to dig out. The storm was really cool. Nobody could get their cars out so you could walk down the middle of (usually busy) streets! Did I say walk? I mean trudge- it was slow going with all that snow! Oh and YES I did go for a run! : )

Burnam Open 4k Cross Country

I did this 4k Cross Country race at Montros Marbor. Conditions were not good - snow and very cold - but that's why it's a cross country race! I had a blast. I forgot how much fun cross country is!
Here is a little clip (not sure if it will work since it was posted on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/video/?of=609034697#!/video/video.php?v=10150171305219698

Jessica Koster Visit!

I got to spend the day with Jess! The picture above is our lunch that we picked up at the Meatloaf Bakery- yes they make meatloaf cupcakes : )

Napa!

My Aunt and Uncle let us borrow their car again so Jeff and I headed to Napa Valley for some wine and cheese tasting. It was so beautiful. The winery that we stopped at was built in the 1800’s that was made of stone. We sampled some wines and some cheeses. It was quite the experience. I felt a bit out of my element sampling expensive wines that I hadn’t heard of with a bunch of well dressed and experienced California girls. …we should have worked on our wine vocabulary before hand : ) We also went on an amazing run through moss covered trees. It was incredible. The Bay area is by far the best place I have ever visited for running. We rushed back and headed to the airport. Great trip- period.

Golden Gate Recreation Area

Wow today was amazing. My Aunt and Uncle let us barrow their car and we headed to the Golden Gate Recreational area and Muir Woods. First stop: Muir Beach. The fog drifted onto the sandy beach with rocky cliffs overhead. Jeff was so excited to see the ocean (and to get out of the car) that he nearly ran into the water with excitement. We did a short hike up to a lookout over the beach. From there we headed into the Muir Woods Park. Jeff drove me to the top of the Panoramic Highway and I started running west until we planned to meet at Stinson Beach and Highway 1. Meanwhile, Jeff went and hiked the Redwood trail and got his first up –close encounter with the big trees. It was a Seattle-like misty day which kept the crowds away. Jeff later went to meet me at Highway 1. But after I hadn’t showed up Jeff decided to drive up the Panoramic highway. He flagged a car down and asked a man if he had seen me. The guy said “Yes- I thought about asking if she needed a ride but she looked like she was having too much fun!” Jeff soon found me running happily in the rain (but with dead tired legs – it was VERY hilly). After that we drove the craziest road of my life. Up, down, over, cliffs on the edge of the road and stunning views of the Pacific the entire time! We stopped had a makeshift lunch on a cliff overlooking the water. We had such an amazing time. Because Jeff hadn’t yet seen the Golden Gate Bridge we raced to get there before dark. We climbed up to the lookout, we heard the cars on the bridge and a freighter down below …. But all there was to see was thick clouds… I guess we will have to go back 

Exploring SF city

Jeff had a few more interviews this morning so I went out exploring again. I walked through a trendy street called Haight street- it was a very artsy- punky atmosphere. I then went to the Japanese Gardens and the Botanical Gardens. I then walked to Sunset Hill which is where many of the medical students live. I found a good Vietnam bakery that I stopped at for lunch. From there I walked to Castro street which a unique area- lot’s of rainbows. From there I went to Mission street and went to 4 thrift stores. I really liked the Mission district. There was a lot of murals and there was a lot of energy on the street. After that I walked home. When Jeff got home he wanted to go for a run so we went on another great run to the beach. After our run we took the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) to my Aunt Lynn and Uncle Mike’s house. They took us out for Mexican food and we had a great time with them!

Golden Gate Bridge Run

Today Jeff had an interview so I put on my running shoes and headed out to explore. I ran through the Golden Gate Park and then across the Golden Gate Bridge I was having such a great time that I didn’t think to check my watch and I ended up running about 16 miles! It was sooo beautiful and fun. When Jeff got back around noon we went to the San Francisco farmers market and got some lunch we then walked through China town and to a few lookouts. That night Jeff’s friend made us dinner which was nice.

To SF....

Tonight Jeff and I went to San Francisco. We headed to Jeff’s friend’s apartment. We went to this awesome Asian Fusion place. I got Pho which I hadn’t had in a long time. Jeff got an ginger noodle dish that was very good as well. Everywhere we walk is straight up or straight down- my legs are already sore.

Dinner with Calah, Jesi, and Jeff!

Tonight Jeff came into town. We had dinner with Calah and Jesi hale (good ol’ Calvin XC friends). Jesi’s boyfriend is in medical school and Calah had just been in Haiti so Jeff had a lot in common.

Dinner with Calah

Calah is in town! I had a great time visiting with her over dinner. She has been all over the place, Vietnam, Colorado, Haiti…it was fun to hear about her adventures and catch up! I had been missing her!

Orientation

I had orientation for Northwestern’s Prosthetics Orthotics program. I had a really great time. My classmates are really interesting and I am really excited to learn more about the topic. In addition, Northwestern just moved to a different building and everything is brand new!